The present subject matter relates generally to a finger protector to be worn over surgical gloves. More specifically, the present subject matter discloses a finger protector to be worn over or under surgical gloves to protect the wearer's finger when tensioning sutures or tying knots with suture products.
Suturing is a common procedure for a number of surgeons and other qualified medical professionals. The suturing process includes placing one or more sutures attached to a needle using a needle holder. The needle is passed through the patient's flesh on one side of an open wound, advanced to the opposing side of the wound, pulled through the skin, and then the suture thread is tied into a knot.
The suture thread is typically formed from a strong, synthetic material, generally in a relatively small diameter. Due to the strength of the material and the diameter of the thread, handling of the thread, particularly tensioning and tying the thread into a knot, can injure the medical professional's fingers, particularly the area of the finger surrounding the distal interphalangeal joint. It is not uncommon for the tensioning of the thread and the typing of knots to leave abrasions or even small cuts in the surgeon's fingers. This happens even through the surgical gloves typically worn when suturing. In fact, the sutures can cut through the surgical gloves, limiting the usefulness of the gloves to act as a shield between the patient and the medical professional.
Individual procedures may involve the placement of a large number of sutures and a particular medical professional may perform numerous suturing procedures in a given day. As a result, over time, the suturing process can take a toll on a surgeon's fingers. Accordingly, medical professionals would benefit from having a finger shield that would help to save their fingers from the damage that occurs during repeated suturing.
One concern regarding the use of a finger shield when suturing is that the quality and efficiency of the medical professional's ability to suture is highly dependent on the surgeon's manual dexterity. As a result, bulky shields or those that otherwise diminish a surgeon's ability to manipulate the sutures are unlikely to be widely used by medical professionals.
Accordingly, there is a need for a finger protector to be worn over or under surgical gloves, as described and claimed herein.